Unheard Voices: The Life of the Nobi in O Hwi-mun's Swaemirok

Many things are known about the nobi and the nobi system in premodern Korea, such as their demographic data and their social and legal status during the Chosŏn dynasty (1392-1910). But we know little about the private and personal side of their lives, what their day-to-day life was like as individuals or families, the personal and social relationships among the nobi, and nothing at all of their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. The sole purpose of this study is to cast a little light on the human face of the men and women who were nobi.